Chapter 195
Erich's steps quickened.
Yet, for some reason, the Lord of the Dead simply observed Erich's approach without intervening.
A sense of composure radiated from the bastard's gestures.
― Fwoosh!
Golden flames flared up around Erich.
Soon after, the radiant flames that seemed to burn the very air condensed around him, forming a solid surface that gleamed with light.
It was the manifestation of the 'ritual' he had refined while facing Albrecht.
The Lord of the Dead's pale eyes narrowed in response. It seemed the bastard found Erich's power intriguing.
― Piit!
Erich's hand swiftly drew his sword and slashed it.
The golden afterimage that enveloped him moved almost simultaneously to follow Erich's motions.
A thin yet solid golden sword energy cut through the air.
A faint afterimage trailing behind caused a sonic boom as it sliced through the sky.
Outwardly, it looked like a simple sword aura—but it wasn't.
The sword energy Erich created with his swing, and the secondary wave formed by the afterimage in its wake—those two harmoniously interacted, creating a force even greater, as if hammering a spike with a mallet.
Of course, he never expected the bastard to be finished with just the first attack.
What Erich sought was to see how much impact his assault could have.
At that moment, the Lord of the Dead wore a faint smile. Erich noticed that fleeting instant.
― Tsststss
Then, a jet-black energy spread around the Lord of the Dead. The moment it collided with the sword energy, it instantly shrank.
― KWAAANG!
A blinding flash erupted briefly, but it was all sucked away into the devouring black energy. The Lord of the Dead flicked his hand lightly.
― KWADUDUDUK!
Erich's gaze darted rapidly. Where his eyes landed, a massive array of ice spears was being forged.
Ice spears.
They weren't particularly extraordinary, being a technique that even necromancers frequently used.
Yet at that moment, Erich sensed something strange in the bastard's creation.
'Something's different.'
Erich's pupils contracted in an instant. His focus was already on the surface of the ice spears, analyzing every detail.
Fine ice fragments clustered uniformly, and divine rituals engraved among them slithered like serpents.
Finally, when Erich realized the true nature of the king's spears, his eyes widened.
― KWAGWAGWANG!!!
Hundreds of ice spears crashed down onto where Erich stood. Each spear, after the momentary pause, triggered consecutive sonic booms before shooting down like arrows.
White smoke billowed upward. The more spears impaled the ground, the more smoke rose.
The Lord of the Dead spread a sinister smile.
― Your strength shouldn't end here, should it?
― Fwwoooosh!
As soon as the Lord of the Dead uttered those words, immense flames erupted from within the smoke, devouring it.
Emerging from within was Erich, amplifying his afterimage and setting it ablaze. Though unscathed, he kept his mouth shut.
'He copied my method as soon as he saw my attack.'
The ice spears the Lord of the Dead launched worked under the same principles as Erich's afterimage technique.
The bastard was clearly mocking Erich by using the same method.
The Lord of the Dead spoke.
― Your talent is quite remarkable. To have mastered the secret arts of dragons, stacking layers of power, in such a mere human form, deserves congratulations.
"Since when were you so talkative?"
― Eternity is synonymous with boredom. In all those ages, no one has reached your level, so how could I not offer praise?
Erich twisted his sword. He had expected this, but the Lord of the Dead's power was truly overwhelming. Confronting it directly made that even clearer.
What the bastard spoke of was the 'boredom of eternity.' This meant that, to him, the current situation was only mildly interesting.
"Well then... let me make it more entertaining."
A faint smile tugged at Erich's lips. Just now, thanks to those words, he realized another truth: the direction in which he had been refining his power was not wrong.
'Amplifying power in layers for greater strength. If that is the secret art of dragons...'
If both the Lord of the Dead and Incensus drew their powers from that dragon art, then all Erich needed to do was further enhance that concept.
― FWOOOSH!!
Golden flames coiled around Erich's whole body. It was both similar to before and different—the flames now formed even denser layers.
Two layers.
Three layers.
Four layers.
And finally, a fifth layer.
Beads of sweat trickled down Erich's neck. The stacked golden fire had transformed into a white radiance.
The Lord of the Dead's power.
If that black energy, known as the 'energy of erosion,' was simply the bastard's power layered over and over—
Then Erich, through layering his own power, had created a white light.
― Tsst!
Just then.
Erich swiftly swung his sword. A chilling sensation urged him to act on instinct, but as he did, he felt a violent resistance surge through his grip.
At that moment, something assaulted him.
― KWAAANG!
The white light enveloping Erich's sword collided with the black energy unleashed by the Lord of the Dead, and the clash exploded.
'Fast.'
Erich's senses instantly grasped the situation. The bastard's attack was fast enough to nearly outpace Erich's perception.
Erich quickly counterattacked with a flurry of blows. The Lord of the Dead pulled out wicked, claw-like forms from the black energy and struck against Erich's sword.
'Is it almost too much just to endure...?!'
On the surface, Erich appeared evenly matched with the Lord of the Dead, trading blows. But in reality, Erich could barely handle it.
Hadn't the Lord of the Dead said earlier that no human had reached Erich's level before?
Merely being wrapped in this overwhelming white energy made it feel as if every bone in his body shook and his muscles tore. At the same time, the immense pressure threatened to obliterate his mind.
Fighting on even terms while wielding such power meant his body was falling apart.
Bones twisted. Muscles burst. Erich managed to continue the fight, supporting his damaged body with aura.
― KWAAANG!
In a flash, an explosion of light and sound blasted between Erich and the Lord of the Dead, sending Erich skidding backward. He tried to dig in his heels, but the shockwave couldn't be resisted.
― Didn't you say you'd make this more entertaining?
"Shut up."
Even as Erich shot back, his entire body screamed with the pain of his limits after just a brief exchange.
'Albrecht, you damned idiot. Did you try to swallow this power?'
He almost laughed aloud. The bastard's power was beyond all imagination. Then again, it made sense. Even if the bastard looked half-decayed and human, in essence, he was a dragon.
An ordinary human could never endure such power for long. Countless thoughts flashed through Erich's mind.
How was he supposed to overcome this situation? In normal circumstances, he might have relied on swordsmanship to shift the tide. But the bastard was wielding pure, overwhelming energy itself.
A contest of power alone would never be enough to defeat him. To win, Erich would have to outright overpower the bastard.
But dragon versus human? In a raw contest of strength, the outcome was as plain as day.
The Lord of the Dead offered a faint smile.
― Trying to use your wits? It won't work on me.
Erich's eyes narrowed. For some reason, those words stirred a certain memory.
The difference between dragons and humans was stark. Their very scale as living beings was fundamentally different. But if that's the case—
'How did humans in the past ever push back monsters like this?'
Incensus and the Lord of the Dead—both were dragons. But they only led the humans. In sheer numbers, the humans shouldn't have stood a chance.
Yet, the humans led by those two won the war against the dragons and seized domination over this land.
A slow grin crept across Erich's lips.
"You're still a dragon, aren't you? Have you forgotten whom you lost to?"
The Lord of the Dead grimaced. That expression, combined with the bastard's unique, chilling gaze, was enough to freeze the blood.
― With Incensus and I, victory was assured, and that's all.
"There's no way that's true. The two of you were just a pair. By simple arithmetic, defeat was inevitable. Doesn't that mean dragons must share a common weakness?"
The Lord of the Dead glared fiercely at Erich.
'That's the answer.'
Erich believed this was the key to bringing down the bastard. The method that defeated dragons in the past, would become the reason the bastard would fall.
― You'll never figure it out, even in death.
A chilling voice sounded from behind Erich. The bastard had instantly moved behind him.
― KWAAAK!!
A horrific screech erupted as clawed hands made of black energy shot out. But Erich wore a subtle smile.
He had found the answer.
― KWAGWANG!!
With a deafening explosion, Erich was blown backwards. But this time was different. His face no longer bore the agony of being overwhelmed by power—now, it gleamed with the joy of a scholar who had found his answer.
Soon after, Erich's gaze turned to the battlefield behind him—where the coalition forces were desperately resisting the advance of the immortal legions.